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SDR management | Blossom Street Ventures
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No Contact.An account shouldn’t be marked “no contact” until at least two prospects have said no (or not responded). “Prior to the discovery call, your SDRs need to hand off the lead/opportunity to the account executive.” Next steps.Closing out a discovery call without a confirmed next step is just a waste, so have a process in place to make sure it does not happen and trach those outcomes.
To be successful, you are going to need to get in front of these reps and pitch them in the proposition that the best path toward their end game (a closing role, founding a company, marketing, leadership, etc.) is by joining you for a fantastic learning and growth experience.” “Also, whenever possible, pay incentive compensation monthly.” Paying for meetings. “For groups setting introductory meetings, you should pay them on meetings held. It follows that a rep’s job is twofold. One, schedule the meeting. And two, make sure the meeting is held. Whether or not the meeting advances to the next step in the sales process is in the account executive’s hands.”
Use micro-promotions.“Have the flexibility to build steps within roles. You might hire a junior SDR, promote to associate SDR, and then elevate to senior SDR. I call these in-role advancements micro-promotions. Micro-promotions should be built on a five- to nine-month cadence. Micro-promotions have to be earned. During the recruiting process, share the progression path with you candidates. Get it out on the table early.” “You could have SDRs work on larger accounts, call higher into target organizations, or perhaps participate in demos or sales calls for the opportunities they generate.” Shorter sales cycle helps.“If you’re selling lower-dollar-value deals with shorter sales cycles, your SDRs will likely be ready for promotion sooner. I’ve seen successful SDR-to-AE promotion periods range from nine to sixteen months. For companies with more complex sales, eighteen to twenty-four months isn’t uncommon (with micro-promotions built in along the way).”
Set expectations.“We may tell a candidate the story about the person who got promoted in six months, but we tell them that they could just as well expect to spend two years in the role. Doing a good job of setting expectations upfront prevents disconnects and the inevitable disappointments.” “You might hire a junior SDR, promote to associate SDR, and then elevate to senior SDR.” Going from SDR to AE is big.“The jump in skillset from the SDR role (prospecting and qualifying) to an AE role (challenging and closing) is significant. Very few can seamlessly make the leap. The micro-promotions we detailed above are a way to bridge the gap. Adding small amounts of incremental responsibility along the path can be a great way to vet an SDR’s desire and abilities. You could have SDRs work on larger accounts, call higher into target organizations, or perhaps participate in demos or sales calls for the opportunities they generate. The important thing is that they have the sense they are learning new skills and are upwardly mobile. Also, be sure to communicate that this isn’t a one-and-done process. You might find that excellent AEs come from SDRs who took two or three attempts to demonstrate their readiness.”
I read Trish Bertuzzi’s book ‘The Sales Development Playbook’; it’s fantastic. The book focuses heavily on building pipeline with SDR teams. Below are some of the excerpts I found to be very insightful. “There are two main models in play: setting introductory meetings and generating qualified opportunities.” Benchmark on one or the other, not both.“One of the biggest mistakes I see companies make is setting internal expectations using introductory meeting metrics (quantity) and then requiring opportunity-level qualification (quality). This seemingly innocuous misstep often ends in total disaster.”
I read Trish Bertuzzi’s book ‘The Sales Development Playbook’; it’s fantastic. The book focuses heavily on building pipeline with SDR teams. Below are some of the excerpts I found to be very insightful. “With introductory meetings, prospects have a sense of your overall value proposition but haven’t been qualified as to their readiness or ability to move forward.” Benchmark on one or the other, not both.“One of the biggest mistakes I see companies make is setting internal expectations using introductory meeting metrics (quantity) and then requiring opportunity-level qualification (quality). This seemingly innocuous misstep often ends in total disaster.”
I read Trish Bertuzzi’s book ‘The Sales Development Playbook’; it’s fantastic. The book focuses heavily on building pipeline with SDR teams. Below are some of the excerpts I found to be very insightful. “The rep is still closing on a meeting or call but has a) moved the prospect from curiosity into interest and b) vetted that the prospect meets or exceeds a minimum thresh hold.”” Benchmark on one or the other, not both.“One of the biggest mistakes I see companies make is setting internal expectations using introductory meeting metrics (quantity) and then requiring opportunity-level qualification (quality). This seemingly innocuous misstep often ends in total disaster.”
Intro meetings and Qualified Opps. “There are two main models in play: setting introductory meetings and generating qualified opportunities.” With introductory meetings, prospects have a sense of your overall value proposition but haven’t been qualified as to their readiness or ability to move forward. Qualified opportunities differ in that they are, well, qualified. The rep is still closing on a meeting or call but has a) moved the prospect from curiosity into interest and b) vetted that the prospect meets or exceeds a minimum thresh hold.” “One of the biggest mistakes I see companies make is setting internal expectations using introductory meeting metrics (quantity) and then requiring opportunity-level qualification (quality).” Which model is right?“You should deploy an introductory meeting model when the market for your product is immature and/or when your account executives need more at-bats. Let me give you an example. Today, customer relationship management software is a mature market. Most (if not all) technology enabled companies already have a solution in place. Those companies have existing contracts with future renewal dates, and the thought of changing providers sounds like a major hassle. In this instance, if your SDRs are setting introductory meetings for the AEs, you’re just wasting everyone’s time. “Compare that to the market for a predictive lead scoring solution. That market is still immature, as the concept itself is new. Vendors are faced with doing the work of educating the market on the problem they solve.”
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